Machine for applying stamps and labels



"Jan. 12, 1937. J. A. SANDERS 2,067,462

MACHINE FOR APPLYING STAMPS AND LABELS Filed Jan. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1* umn m mm Q x i Q Q R Hm a. N w a $3 |C||O' r Wll l O I r s g m @Q N9 8 wv Tm w M m m6 mi ma m m- Qb J I w Q m: nl R a. v MM FIN. ya 0- N @N o W m Jan.- 12, 1937. J. A. SANDERS 2,057,462

MACHINE FOR APPLYING STAMPS AND LABELS Filed Jan. 18, 1955 4 sh t -sh t, 2

-JAMES ASA/vases Ewe/whorl R m$ v H mi M 5 I o S I m 3 lm Q3 mm um m E 3 on w om E \l m Q w fi 1r m 8 2 M. E. "W: MN I. w y .u 9% "m Jm AQQ m nm R l .u mm u B IIII I V .ms v a m a. m a T n I {villi}- MN 5. m v W @N Wm Q 3 R H 2 J. A. SANDERS MACHINE FOR APPLYING STAMPS AND LABELS Jan. 12, 1937.

Filed Jan. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 s R km W N. w w M i .Y an N $3 on A w fig 3 m R @ME 5 Q 5L1 14F- E m m ,3 N a; a m. J o 4. L MN m2 A. a 3 @V. E a fl w s 5 v 81 b g E QT a es m m8 m Q vm i QQ Nm. 3 6m g 8 Q. s. R my 3* F s an, t. mm Q MQ b 7 Q aw w Q 3 N E 3 @J J H W m S Q Q m R Q mm mm Q vb ms am I O w fl Fr. 2? w m QQ Q. Q% 7 0 I m N m as 5 as $61 8* 3 Q w: mm dmKm I 2 mm. mm N 3 ea 0: Q ms 1937- J. A. SANDERS MACHINE FOR APPLYING STAMPS AND LABELS Filed Jan. 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 s .R .7 D H A .5 A 5 E m J gvwwwtom Patented Jan. 12, 1937 MACHINE FOR APPLYENG STAMPS AND LABELS James A. Sanders, Lando, S. 0.

Application January 18, 1935, Serial No. 2,417

1 Claim. (01. 216-33) This invention relates to a machine for affiX- is adapted to be mounted. The side frame or ing stamps to packages, and more especially to truss it is comprised of end posts I? and IS the aflixing of sales tax stamps to packages of which are connected together at their upper ends cigarettes which are required by the laws of many by a suitable top chord member i l, and near 5 States to be affixed thereto by the dealer or their lower ends by a bottom chord member l5. 5 wholesaler before the cigarettes are sold for con- The top and bottom chord members it and i5 sumption. Heretofore, this operation has been are tied together by suitable vertically disposed carried out by hand, which in the case of large web members i6, i1, i8, i9 and 2E.

retailers and Wholesalers has necessitated the The end post l2 has projecting therefrom a 10 employment of operators for this purpose, requircantilevered portion 2! which is adapted to sup- 0 ing a great amount of expense. port a feeding mechanism which will be present- It is an object of the invention to provide an ly described. apparatus into which packages of cigarettes can Likewise, frame member I! is comprised of end be fed automatically for the aiiixing of tax stamps posts 2% and 25 said posts being secured together thereon. at their upper ends by a top chord member 26 5 It is another object of the invention to proand near their lower ends by a bottom chord vide an apparatus for affixing stamps to packmember 27. These chord members 36 and 21 ages of cigarettes which will accommodate varihave suitable vertically disposed web members ous sizes of packages by means of simple and 29, 3B and 3i which tie said chord members quickly made adjustments. together. The end post 24 has the cantilevered It is a further object of this invention to proportion 32, similar in all respects to cantilever vide means for applying labels, stamps and the portion 2| just described, which is adapted to like to packages and having means for receiving cooperate with this portion 21 to support the a quantity of the packages and automatically feeding mechanism.

25 conveying the packages, one following the other, A suitable electric motor 35 is provided for opthrough the apparatus, and also having means crating my apparatus and this motor has a suitfor afiixing stamps, labels and the like to the able pulley 36 upon which is mounted a belt 31, packages while they are being conveyed, in consaid belt 3'? being also mounted on a larger pulstant movement, through the machine. ley 38. The pulley 38 is fixedly mounted on shaft Some of the objects of the invention having which, in turn, is rotatably mounted in web 30 been stated, other objects will appear as the demembers H and 29,

scription proceeds when taken in connection with The other end of shaft 39 has fixedly secured the accompanying drawings, in which:-- thereon a pinion 4B which is adapted to mesh with Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention; idler pinion ila pivoted as at dob which idler 35 Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure l; pinion also meshes with gear ll, said gear 4| be- 35 Figure 3 is an elevation of the opposite side ing rotatably mounted as at 32 on web member of my invention from that shown in Figure 1; i8. A similar gear 23 meshes with gear 4! and Figure 4 is SeCtiOnal p ew a en along this gear is likewise mounted on a web member the line 4-4 in Figure 1; 29 as at 34. Gear 43 meshes also with a gear 55 Figure 5 s a on al Sectiona V ew take which is fixedly secured on a shaft 68, said shaft 40 a o line in Figure 36 being rotatably mounted in bottom chord Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken members 15 and 21 along line in Figure It should be noted that the gears 36a, and as, Figure traPsVeFse sectlonal Vlew taken just described, serve merely as idler gears to con- 45 along the lme m Flgure 5; nect the pinion 49 to the gear lli'and the direction 45 Figure 8 is a sectional detail view taken along the line 88 in Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a sectional detail View taken along the line 99 in Figure 3;

of rotation of these gears is denoted by the arrows placed thereon. The shaft Q6 has fixedly secured thereon a pulley 19 upon which is adapted 50 Figure 10 is an enlarged detail View Showing to be mountedra su table conveyor belt 59, said the means for feeding the tape and applying Conveyor belt 9 also mounted upon the same to the top of a package other pulley 5! which is fixedly secured on shart Referring more particularly to the drawings 52. Shaft 52 is rotatably mounted in suitable the numerals iii and H d not th t id bearings 53 and 5 3 which are secured to bottom 55 frames or trusses between which my apparatus chord members !5 and 27. These bearings are 55 identical in all respects therefore, like reference characters will apply to like parts.

It is seen by observing Figures 1 and 5 that the bottom chord members it and 2? have slots I501, and 27a respectively cut in the left-hand ends thereof, through which the shaft 52 is adapted to project. The bearings 53 and 5% each have a slot 56 therein which is penetrated by a stud 57 to hold the bearings in their proper position on members i5 and 2?. The right-hand ends of bearings 53 and 5 5 (see Fig. i) have laterally projecting portions 58 which are adapted to be contacted by the head of a suitable adjustment screw 59, said screws being threadably mounted in a block 6%] which in turn is secured to the bat torn chord members it and 2?. When the conveyor belt 56 becomes slack and an adjustment is desired, it is evident that by loosening the bolts 5?, and manipulating the adjustment screws 59 that the pulley 5i may be moved tothe left and the proper adjustment duly made.

The other end of shaft 52 has fixedly mounted thereon a pulley 65. Pulley 55 has mounted thereon belt 56 which is also mounted upon a similar pulley 61 which is fixedly secured on shaft 68. The belt 66 is adapted to be contacted by a suitable roller 56a which is rotatably mounted on the arm 6%, said 65?)- being pivoted in cantilevered portion 32. When the roller 56 on shaft 1 52 is adjusted by means of the screws 5e and its associated parts the slack in the belt 66 is automatically taken up by means of the roller 55a.

Shaft 58 is rotatably mounted in top chord members as and 26 and has fixedly mounted thereon a pulley 59. A second conveyor belt it is mounted on pulley 69 which belt is also mounted on a pulley H which is fixedly secured on shaft '12, said shaft 32 being rotatably mounted in the ends of cantilevered members 2! and 32. The conveyor belt if! has secured thereto a plurality of lugs or projections it which are adapted to contact the packages to be stamped and to carry them into the machine. These packages will be denoted by the reference character 15 and it will be seen by observing Figures 1 and 3 that a suitable chute it is provided through which the packages l5 are adapted to be fed into the conveyor it.

As the conveyor belt 10 rotates on the pulleys it is seen that these packages will be transferred one by one into a vertically disposed chute H which is mounted on top chord members Hi and 26. The chute ii acts as a supply bin for the belt conveyor 50. Should this chute not be present as the feeding would have tobe more accurately timed in order to insure that the feeding to the conveyor belt 5!} be uniform, but since the chute TI is provided and the packages 15 are allowed to be stacked therein by the second conveyor :79 a uniform delivery to belt it is not absolutely necessary because enough packages are always disposed within the chute T8 to insure that one package will be ready each time a lug 81! which is disposed on the belt 5% comes upwardly to pull a package out of the chute ii. The lowermost package 15 in the chute H is adapted to be contacted by the lug 8E and carried rearwardly in the machine. The chute Tl can be easily removed and a broader or narrower chute installed for packages of varying widths. This is made possible by having pins lid in chords l4 and 2B which fit into holes in plate lib supporting chute ll.

Before the label or stamp is applied to the top "of the package it is necessary that the surface on which the label will be attached will be buffed of slightly roughened in order that the moistening device may operate more effectively; therefore, I have provided a buifer or scarifier which consists of a stiif rotary brush 82. This brush is rotatably mounted on a shaft 83 said shaft 83 having its ends rotatably mounted in slidable blocks it and 85. The blocks 8t and 85 are slidably mounted in suitable guideways which are secured to the inner side of web members it and 23.

In order to adjust the height of the buffer 82 so that the proper roughemng or scarifying will take place on the top of the package, an inverted U-shaped member 86 is provided the lower ends of which support shaft 83 and the upper end of said member 86 has screw threadedly mounted therein a shaft 8?, said shaft 5'5 being loosely mounted in a horizontally disposed member 88 which rests on top of top chord members is and it. The upper end of shaft 87 has a suitable hand wheel 39 secured thereon and it is evident that the height of the U-shaped member 85 and the shaft 83 may be adjusted by turning this hand wheel. The bufier 32 is positively driven by means of a pulley 52c which is fixedly mounted on a shaft 83, said pulley 82a having mounted thereon a belt 32?) which is also mounted on a pulley 82c fixedly secured on shaft as. An arm 8253 is pivoted in web member 29 and has rotatably mounted on the free end thereof a roller 82c which is adapted to contact the belt 3212. This roller will keep the proper tension in the belt when an adjustment has been made. In order that the packages i5 will be led directly beneath the scarifier 82 suitable guides 55%] and 9! are provided for guiding these packages. Guide at is supported by an inverted U- shaped member 93 which is slidably mounted on bolts 9 and E35 disposed between top chord members i land 26. The upper central portion of inverted U-shaped member 93 is threadably mounted on a rod 538, said rod 96 being rotatably mounted in top chord members it and 26 and having a hand wheel 9? thereon. Likewise, guide iii is supported by a similar inverted U- shaped bracket '98 which also has its upper end slidably mounted on rods 9d and and its upper central portion threadably mounted on shaft 96. Since the threads on shaft 93 are disposed in opposite directions, that is, thethreads engaging the member 93 are left-hand threads and the threads engaging members 9t are right-hand threads, the turning of hand-wheel 9'5 will cause the members 93 and 98 to move in opposite directions. When the Width of the guides at and Si is desired to be changed, the hand wheel 9'! is turned until these members are disposed at the proper position.

After the top: of the package i5 has passed beneath the buffer 82 it is next passed beneath a moistening roll we in order that the proper moisture may be placed thereon so that a gummed label or stamp I will adhere thereto. This moistening roll 5% consists of a grooved pulley having a felt surface iii! thereon which is adapted to have moisture applied thereto by mounted in bearings H85 and 1% which are dis- 7 posed in the web members I1 and 20. These bearings I05 and I06 are similar in most respects and by referring to Figure 8 it is seen how the pipe I02 is mounted. The bearing I05 consists of a packing nut I01 which is threadably mounted on a short pipe I08 and a suitable packing gland I01a is provided in order that the liquid may not escape as it passes from pipe I08 to pipe I02. By making an arrangement of this type it is seen that the oscillation of the pipe I02 is made possible without allowing any of the liquid to escape therefrom.

The other end of pipe I08 has a vertically disposed pipe I09 connected thereto, (see Fig. 1) which has placed therein a suitable valve H0. The upper end of this pipe I03 is connected to a reservoir III which supplies the liquid to the moisture roll I00. As previously stated, the bearing I05 is similar in most respects to the bearing I05, just described, but it is evident that the end of pipe I02 should be plugged as at IBM to prevent the liquid from escaping therefrom.

In order to limit the downward movement of the moistening device I an L-shaped member H3 is provided, said member II3 being pivotally mounted as at II4 to bottom chord member 21. It is seen that the upper end of the L-shaped member II 3 projects beneath the pipe I02 and by loosening the bolt II 4 and pivoting the L- shaped member II3 therearound the elevation of the moistening device I00 can be varied to suit the height of the package. Afmr the moisture has been applied, to the top of the package the label is then placed thereon by a mechanism which will be presently described.

The labels or stamps II5 which are to be applied to the top of the packages are manufactured in suitable rolls and it is seen by referring to Figure '1 that between each label that a row of perforations H6 is provided in order that the label will break at this point after it has been applied to the package. The roll is placed on a suitable stud II1 which is fixedly mounted in top chord member 26. Bolt II1 has a collar II8 slidably mounted thereon, said collar II8 having a slot II9 therein which is penetrated by a pin I said pin I20 being secured to the bolt II1. A tension spring I2I is disposed on bolt II1 against the right-hand face of collar II8 (see Fig. 7) andvthe upper portion of top chord member 26. This spring normally tends to force the collar I I8 against the roll of labels and produce a friction on the roll to prevent said roll from unwinding faster than necessary. A nut I22 is threadably secured on the end of bolt H1 and it is evident that by adjusting this nut I22 that the necessary friction on the roll of labels or stamps II5 may be produced.

The roll of labels or stamps H5 is adapted to pass between rubber belts I23 and I34. Belt I23 is mounted on rollers I25 and I26. The roller I25 is fixedly secured on shaft I21 which is rotatably mounted in blocks I28 and I29. The shaft I21 has fixedly secured thereon a pinion I30 which is adapted to mesh with another pinion I 3I fixedly secured on shaft I 32. The shaft I32 has fixedly secured thereon a roller I33 which is similar in all respects to the roller I25 just described, and upon this roller I33 is a rubber belt I34. Belt I34 is also mounted on a roller I35 which is similar to the roller I26 previously described.

Rollers I26 and I35 have their ends rotatably mounted in stirrup member I40, said stirrup member having its upper ends pivotally mounted in suitable projections in sliding blocks I28 and I29. A presser roller MI is also rotatably mounted in the lower end of stirrup member I40 and is adapted to press the tape of stamps or labels onto the top of the package as it is delivered by the belts I23 and. I34.

In order to adjust the height of the stirrup member I40, an L-shaped member I42 is provided and this member is pivoted as at I43 to bottom chord member 21. This L-shaped member I42 is similar to L-shaped member II3 just described and has its upper end projecting horizontally directly beneath the stirrup member I40.

By referring to Figures 3 and 9 it is seen that a pinion I44 is fixedly secured on the end of shaft I32 and on the extreme right-hand end of shaft I32 is rotatably confined an arm I45, the upper end of said arm I45 having a dog pivotally secured thereto and normally having its free end pressed into engagement with the teeth of pinion I44 by any. suitable means such as spring I41. The lower end of arm I 45 has pivotally secured thereto an adjustable link I which is also connected as at I5I to disc I52. The disc I52 is secured on stud shaft I53, said stud shaft I53 having a pinion I54 fixedly secured thereon which is adapted to mesh with a gear I55 which is secured on shaft 45. As disc I52 rotates in a clock-wise manner in Figure 3, due to the rotation of shaft 46, pinions I55 and I54, it is evident that the link I50 will cause the arm I45 to oscillate back and forth. As the disc I52 rotates from the position shown in Figure 3, the pinion I44 will move in a counterclockwise manner but after the point I5I reaches its extreme right-hand position in Figure 3 and starts its travel to the left, it is evident that the pinion will not be moved but the dog I 46 will ratchet over the teeth in the pinion I44 until the point I5I has reached its extreme left-hand position. At this point when the direction of travel of point I5I changes, the dog I45 will again engage the teeth in pinion I45 and cause the pinion to move in a counter-clockwise manner.

It is seen by referring to Figures 3, 5, 9 and 10 that the belts I23 and I34 move to carry the stamps I I5 to the package 15 only when the shaft I32 is rotated. The object of providing a mechanism that will cause intermittent movement of the shaft I32 is to provide means for feeding the tape to the package, one label or stamp at a time and after this label has been applied to the package to cause the movement of shaft I34 to cease. The conveyor belt 50 will continue its movement thereby causing the label to break at the perforation I I6. When the package 15 first reaches the pressure roller I4I the shaft I32 begins rotation thereby causing the belts I23 and I34 to feed a label from the roll to the top of the package. The shaft I32 continues to rotate until the label has been practically applied to the top of the package as shown in Figure 10 at which time the shaft I32 ceases to rotate to allow the ratchet I46 to ratchet over the top of the teeth in the pinion I44. At the same time the conveyor belt I50 continues its travel causing the label to break at the perforation I I6.

In order to provide vertical adjustment for the shafts I21 and I32, an inverted U-shaped member I is provided which is similar in all respects to the U-shaped member 86 just described. The upper central portion of the inverted U-shaped member I00 has a bolt IBI threadably secured therein said bolt extending upwardly and being adapted to be rotatably mounted in horizontally disposed member I82 which is mounted on top of top chord members i i and 26. A hand wheel IE3 is also provided in order that the bolt I6! may be turned to cause the height of inverted U- shaped member 160 to be varied. When the adjustment of the height of shafts l2? and I332 is effected it is of course evident that link 158 will likewise have to be adjusted to correspond to the adjustment made by means of the U-shaped member E and its associated parts.

After the label has been applied to the top of package 15 it is then stamped with the name of the owner of the store or the wholesaler who is selling the goods. This requirement is made by the stamp tax laws of several states and in order to cause this stamping to take place after the label has been applied I provide a stamp roll Hi5 andan ink roll 56 both of which have their ends rotatably mounted in stirrup member ifi'l, said stirrup member being pivotally mounted in Web members 253 and 3!. It isseen that the ink roll E66 is disposed directly above the stamp roll I and is adapted to supply the necessary ink to the stamp pad which is placed on the outside of the stamp roll U55. It is evident that when the package 15 with the label thereon passes beneath the roller E65 that the roller H55 will be caused to rotate and print the indicia or letters on the face of the stamp roll on top of the label. The downward movement of the stirrup member MB! is limited by means of an L-shaped member I68 secured to bottom chord member 2'1 as at I69. The adjustment of this L-shaped member may be made in the same manner as described for the L-shaped member H3. When the packages have passed beneath the roll 555 they are ready for sale to customers.

It is thus seen that I have provided a means whereby the packages may be roughened and then moistened and a stamp applied thereto and also means for cancelling the stamp. This is done in one continuous operation, thereby saving much labor which has been necessary heretofore when the stamps were placed thereon and cancelled by hand. It is evident also that the packages do not necessarily have to be of the same shape as shown in the drawings but by changing the chute H to one of different dimensions packages which have other dimensions can be fed as well into the apparatus and stamped thereby.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

Apparatus for applying stamps and labels to packages which comprises a framework, an endless conveyor for receiving packages and conveying them through the apparatus, spaced projections on the endless conveyor for engaging packages placed on the conveyor, means disposed on each side of the conveyor for guiding the packages, means for adjusting the position of said guiding means to conform to the size of the packages on the conveyor, vertically adjusting means for roughening the upper side of the packages, means for moistening the upper side of the packages, means for supporting a roll of stamps, means for feeding the stamps in timed relation to the travel of the packages, and means for driving said endless belts intermittently, the stopping of the endless belts after the stamp has been partially affixed to a package while the package is constantly moving serving to tear the stamp from the roll, and means for holding a perforated ribbon roll of stamps, a pair of endless belts for withdrawing the stamps in ribbon form from the roll and feeding them to the packages, an idler roll for pressing the stamps onto the packages.

JAMES A. SANDERS. 

